Nesarian Empire
Nesarian Empire Note: Not to be confused with Nesaria. The Nesarian Empire (also referred to just as "the Empire") is a federal constitutional monarchy which borders Russia to the north and west, Kazakhstan to the east, and the Black Sea to the south. The continent it belongs to is ambiguous and a hotly debated topic. The Nesarian Empire was first formed in 58BC after the Republican War by King Mathdusias IV, then broken again during the Nesarian War of Succession, and reformed by Emperor Athdus III. Until the conquests of Athdus from 77AD onwards, Nesaria and the Nesarian Empire were considered to be one and the same. The different countries within the Empire were managed as autonomous regions and eventually became devolved governments in 1534, and the Empire adopted the federal style of government that it has today which gives the different countries very high autonomy. Both red and purple are colours frequently used for the Nesarian Empire on maps and in symbols and so on. The Nesarian Empire is normally depicted on a map as red, but where it conficts with another "red" nation (such as the British Empire) it is coloured using purple. The date the Empire was founded in is often debated. Some say 58BC when the Empire was first officially declared by Emperor Mathdusias IV, and others say 77AD when it was truly unified under Emperor Athdus III - others still say it was founded in 1534 when the current federal model was adopted. The different countries have a very high degree of autonomy over their own laws and governments (they also have their own sports teams). The extreme degree of autonomy has led some scholars to say that the Empire is more like a strong political union between separate states rather than a single country. The Imperial Government, led by the Emperor, can create Imperial Laws and controls the armed forces (apart from the Osdarthian Guard). It takes taxes from the different countries for the armed forces, redistribution of wealth from richer countries to poorer ones, and administration. This system has existed since the Bloodless Revolution in 1980 (before that, the Imperial Government had significantly more control over the different countries within the Empire). The Empire has no state religion, however the countries within the Empire have their own state religion. Some have argued that the Imperial Government promotes Elveta, the largest religion within the Empire, but it is officially secular. Execution is a common penalty in the Empire for serious crimes such as mass murder and rape. Avamoria and Osdarth are the only countries in the Empire to not use the death penalty. Separatist sentiment exists in every country in the Empire, with the strongest movements in Osdarth, Indissia and Drazak, and the weakest movements in Estemoria, Elfland and Avamoria. However, even the most popular separatist movement, in Drazak, only has the support of approximately 30% of the population. One movement which has significantly more support is a movement to change the name of the Nesarian Empire (the two top candidates for replacement names being United Empire and Imperial Union) in order to reduce the influence of Nesarians over the majority non-Nesarian population. This movement is most popular in Drazak and Indissia, which both have roughly 50% of the population supporting the name change. The Nesarian Empire has been criticised for a number of war crimes and human rights abuses. Countries within the Nesarian Empire The following countries within the Empire are as follows: * Nesaria (Purple - 25,000,000 citizens) * Osdarth (Red - 20,000,000 citizens) * Indissia (Yellow - 18,200,000 citizens) * Estemoria (Light Green - 8,500,000 citizens) * Avamoria (Turquoise - 6,600,000 citizens) * Draconia (Orange - 3,400,000 citizens) * Elfland (Not Represented - 2,000,000 citizens) * Drazak (Dark Green - 1,500,000 citizens) These countries make up a total population of 85,000,000 citizens. When referring to the Nesarian Empire in a historical context, these are often referred to as the "core countries", compared to the other countries in the Empire (such as Armenia and Persia) which were not core countries. Osdarth, Indissa and Avamoria are city-states, and the country takes its name from the capital city. The politics and economy of these countries are dominated by the capital, although this is least true in Indissia. These countries share ancient as well as modern history, and they also share some cultural similarities, for example traditional hairstyles, music, religion (Nesaria, Avamoria and Elfland are all Elvetan) and, for Osdarth, Indissia and Draconia, the destruction brought by Kashita. Greatest extent The Nesarian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent (and was also the second-largest empire in the world, narrowly beaten by the British Empire) from 1917 (after victory in the Greco-Turkish War) to 1918 (after defeat in the First World War), although it had been the second-largest empire since 1825 (after victory in the Great Russo-Nesarian War). Pictured to the right is the map of the Nesarian Empire during this period. The Empire fragmented several times from 1825-1918 (Nesarian Civil War, Estemorian Uprising and Persian Uprising), but all rebellions were successfully defeated by the Imperial Government. It only expanded a tiny amount (Greco-Turkish War) during this period due to the long-term devastation from the Nesarian Civil War and the difficulties that naturally come from managing an extremely large empire. Ex-Empire states These countries used to be part of the Empire. After WW2, some were incorporated into the USSR directly, some became USSR puppet states and some became completely independent. *Kazakhstan *Uzbekistan *Turkmenistan *Kyrgyzstan *Tajikistan *Afghanistan *Iran *Azerbaijan *Georgia *Armenia More than half of Russia was also briefly under the control of Nesaria, but this had little cultural or ethnic influence on the inhabitants. The only genetic impact which the Nesarian Empire had had on Russia was exterminated during the Nesarian Genocide. The only lasting impact that the Empire had on this territory was the "Nesaria to Korea" railway (which actually went to Vladivostok, not Korea), one of the longest in the world. It was destroyed during WW1, but was restored in the 1990s when Russia and Nesaria reconciled their differences and for the first time became allies rather than enemies (see foreign relations for more information). Sports Various sports competitions are run in the Empire, where teams from across the Empire compete. The different countries in the Empire contribute their own individual teams to international championships. The following Empire-wide competitions take place, in order of most popular to least popular: * Imperial Football League / Regateros Plexospir Estos (Nesarian: RPE, English: IFL) * Imperial Calecuda League / Regateros Calecuda Estos (Nesarian: RCE, English: ICaL) * Imperial Rugby League / Regateros Rocbae Estos (Nesarian: RRE, English: IRU) * Imperial Spiobela League / Regateros Spiobela Estos (Nesarian: RSbE, English: ISL) * Imperial Jousting League / Regateros Spivacobela Estos (Nesarian: RSvE, English: IJL) * Imperial Cricket League / Regateros Naraqot Estos (Nesarian: RNE, English: ICrL) * Imperial Ice Hockey League / Regateros Lifatohoca Estos (Nesarian: RLE, English: IIHL) While it is debatable whether or not the Empire is in Europe, the Nesarian Empire as a whole participates in European rather than Asian international tournaments such as the UEFA Champion's League. Military The Nesarian Empire has 350,000 active personnel and 455,200 reserves. It spends $70bn per year on defence. The Empire is renowned for its long and tough (but very effective) training program, which creates a highly skilled military (at the cost of higher spending per soldier and more time spent training). There are plans to slightly expand the military to at least 400,000 active personnel and 500,000 reserves. The Empire has 166 warships, of which 30 are submarines. The Empire has 809 operational aircraft, of which 411 are planes and 398 are helicopters. The Empire has 350 nuclear warheads at its immediate disposal, and 50 more in reserve. The Empire uses both nuclear submarines and conventional land-based missile silos. These land-based silos are currently geared towards Israel and Turkey. The Nesarian military uses the same ammunition as Russia, in order to make co-operation between Nesarian and Russian military forces easier when they serve together (e.g. in Syria). Many Nesarian firearm, tank and aircraft designs are also based on Russian designs, and some of the equipment is bought directly from Russia. Flag See also: Flags of the Empire The Imperial flag is a gold shield with a blue rim surrounded by a gold laurel wreath, on top of a purple saltire and a slightly off-white background. * The gold shield represents the defence of the Empire and its people by the armed forces and the Emperor that leads them. * The blue rim of the shield represents peace (blue has historically been associated with peace throughout the Empire, especially this particular shade of blue). * The laurel wreath represents victory and power. * The purple saltire is taken from the Nesarian flag and represents the monarchy, as well as the monarchy's commitment to defending and helping the land. * The off-white background is purely for aesthetic reasons and holds no significance.